


I Say Wall, You Say Door

by snarechan



Category: Jak and Daxter
Genre: Bad Romance - Freeform, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-06
Updated: 2006-07-06
Packaged: 2017-10-23 07:50:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/247921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarechan/pseuds/snarechan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caught between Jak 3 and Jak X, where words don't mean anything at all and actions change everything for the worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Say Wall, You Say Door

**Author's Note:**

> My fifth, and final, response to pip_malloy's anti-pairing challenge that was held over at the LJ community jak_fanfics. As a romantic myself, it was great getting the chance to explore the less pleasant side of relationships. And yes, the title _was_ inspired by Cassandra Cassidy and the Beatles. :D

Ashelin found him doing - what else but - work. Specifically what, she hadn’t a clue, but with the war with her father, the Metal Heads, and lastly, but certainly at the very bottom-of-hell least, Cyber Errol finished, there was still enough going on with reconstruction and rekindling with the people of both her city and Spargus to keep everyone around her busy. Her Commander of the Freedom League was no exception.

“Dinner was four hours ago,” the redhead informed him, her tone bland for the moment. As if sensing the threat behind her dead voice, Torn lifted his head from his work without looking at her.

“I heard.”

“Then whatever you’re working on must be fairly important, am I correct?” Her voice now held a tint of steel behind it, as she had grown tired of repeating how tiresome it was to have to keep reminding him of his health habits. When she said eat, he was supposed to _eat_ , _damn it_ , and only another large-scale war should get in the way of that.

“Everything I do for Haven City is ‘fairly important,’” he replied, head tilting back down to regard the blue screen in front of him. His fingers went back to sketching something on an electronic notepad, the soft squeaky noises the only sounds filling the empty space. For a short moment.

“What’s your problem?” Ashelin suddenly snapped, striding over to him like a steaming train at full power. At the moment, she felt she had every right to be a little frustrated with the man in front of her. It was one thing for him to act like…like _that_ every once in a while, but he’d been reclusive towards her for a long time, now. And she was going to find out why this very minute.

“What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean. You’ve been avoiding me,” she stated simply, pointing an accusing gloved finger at his chest now that he had finally turned to face her. Gently, or as gently as someone like Torn could manage, he caught her hand in his and held it there. Just held it. Held it between them like she’d invaded some sanctuary she wasn’t supposed to.

“What’s your problem?” Ashelin asked, really asked this time, without some demand or order behind it.

He huffed softly in his way of sighing, averting his eyes again as if something pained him. It was so strange to see him do it, the gesture almost foreign to the both of them. The man liked to face his problems head-on, yet here they were, avoiding an issue she wasn’t even sure was there.

“I heard about your visit to Spargus.”

At first, she was confused. She’d made many trips out there, both before and after the war with the Metal Heads and, unknowingly, with Cyber Errol. Then it clicked, he had to be talking about…

Ashelin had enough in her to look abashed, but not ashamed, at the memory of the time she went to go check on Jak and Daxter after their last battle in the desert. Being as much a soldier, warrior, whatever you want to call it, as the rest of them, she’d gone out to see if he would need any medical aid; as it turned out, he’d needed a little CPR on her visit.

“Yeah, so?”

Her flippant words sounded more nonchalant about the whole ordeal than she had originally intended, but they came out harsh all the same. This time, she was the one who averted her gaze, her wrist moving so that her hand slipped free of his.

“Is that all you can say?”

The question caught her off guard. She even made the mistake of looking back at him, his familiar blue eyes holding hers.

“No. I’m curious, too – are you jealous, is that it? Angry that he had the guts to kiss me first, and you didn’t?”

He laughed, the sound gruff and dry coming from him. Really, it was more like some sick cough.

“Would that make you happy? Did my sacrifices not mean enough to you? I gave up the Underground for you, once, or have you forgotten that?”

More and more questions, more and more accusations. They flowed back and forth amongst them like a poisonous gas, floating around and choking them. It stuck in her lungs worst of all, making it harder and harder to say what she wanted.

Fists shaking, she realized that this wasn’t working. This wasn’t what she’d come here for. Sure they’d flirted with each other, but besides that…nothing. She didn’t have to justify herself to him. But looking into his drawn face and seeing the hurt in the form of hate said she owed it to him, because Torn was loyal and trusting once you’d earned it, and she’d thrown that back at him by kissing Jak. Until now, she hadn’t realized that.

Releasing a slow, controlled breath of air, she eased her hands, uncurling her fingers from the fists she’d unconsciously put them in. Thereafter, she calmly took that last step into his personal space and hugged him.

“I’m sorry.”

The gesture was as awkward as it could get with them, if Torn’s now-stiff and unsure posture was anything to go by. But then, gradually, he rested his hands on her shoulders in the closest he would come to hugging her in return. The closest he would come to hugging _anyone_.

“Apology accepted.”

Though his hollow response wasn’t an ‘I forgive you’ or ‘it’s alright,’ she could only hope it would do.

-Fin-


End file.
